A global pharmaceutical firm based in Devon has confirmed it has plans to build a new factory in the UK.
Accord Healthcare makes and distributes medicines in more than 85 countries, and has a manufacturing facility on the Whiddon Valley industrial estate in Barnstaple. It also has a production site in Fawdon in Newcastle upon Tyne and a distribution centre in Didcot, Berkshire.
A spokesperson for Accord told BusinessLive they could confirm the company is looking to build a new base “within our UK region” but added the proposal was “very much in the early stages”. The new development could have the potential to create hundreds of jobs.
In its latest set of accounts filed on Companies House in August, Accord reported it employs around 730 permanent staff, of which some 530 work within production.
According to its website, the firm’s UK manufacturing operations help it to produce an average of 470 million tablets a month and around 5.6 billion a year.
During the financial year to the end of March, Accord reported its revenue had dropped by 15% which it said was driven by competitive price pressures and the impact of Covid-19 on the health sector. Profit after tax stood at £19m, down from £44.8m a year earlier.
Formerly known as Actavis UK, the business was acquired by parent firm Intas Pharmaceuticals in 2017 and rebranded to Accord Healthcare.
The company has roots dating back more than 180 years in the UK. It was established in Brighton in 1839 as Arthur H Cox and Co, an early developer of pill coatings, before relocating to Devon in the late 1970’s.
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